


Phone Service

by confundedgryffindor



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Deaf Sirius Black, F/M, First Dates, Meet-Cute, Meet-Ugly, Tech Guide James, a tad bit of angst because i can, but more like, but not in the way you think, dating apps, fluff?, lily works at a daycare, no beta we die like men, which should be a tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-01 17:42:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19182655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confundedgryffindor/pseuds/confundedgryffindor
Summary: “Right, er… Have you tried turning it on and off again?”Lily stared down at her phone in disbelief. She had just told him that the phone was pointedlynotturning on, and he suggested to turn it on anyways.“Are you fucking joking?” she said it somewhat calmly, albeit a bit shrill, even though she wanted to yell. She wanted to fucking scream into the abyss and never call anyone again. “The phone is not turning on, and we can therefore not try to turn it on and then off again.”“Right. Right, of course,” James said. “Er… Have you tried connecting it to a power source?”Lily facepalmed. An actual, hard slap against her face, which even stung a little.-In which James and Lily meet twice, both through their phones.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this thing based on something jencala said in the wds discord. i have no idea how a simple message where she said that she was annoying turned to this, but yeah here we are
> 
> i have a second chapter in the works, but i just wanted to post this lmao
> 
> ALSO, disclaimer. i don't know a lot about being deaf/HoH, and i deeply apologize for any misconceptions or anything i've written wrong. i should've researched more, but aghhh i didn't have the energy and i'm so sorry  
> ALSO also, as far as i've understood it from reading other fics and stuff, there's like different grammar with sign language (i think), but since i don't know sign lanuage or its grammar, i decided to just write normal speech but in italicts and made it clear that it was being signed and not said.   
> again, i am very sorry if i messed this whole thing up, but i had fun writing it and the next chapter is only going to be about james and lily heh

Lily was having a shit day. 

An absolute train wreck of a shit day; a kid from the daycare she worked at had projectile vomited on her shirt, her headphones had conveniently decided not to work, and she’d missed her bus  _ twice. _

So she had to take a forty minute walk without headphones, holding an Asda bag containing a vommed-down shirt. She wanted nothing more than to shower again, then sink down on the balcony floor and chain smoke with Sirius as she bitched about not finding any Flame dates and about the annoying children at the daycare. Because she was morally corrupt and in a pissy mood.

As soon as she stepped foot inside hers and Sirius’ flat, she was met with the sound of shaky sobs. She couldn’t help but to groan. She didn’t want to groan, of course, she wanted to see what was wrong with Sirius, but another warm shower and a smoke sounded  _ so  _ much better.

Lily took a couple of deep breaths, dropped the bag with the vomit shirt on the ground, stuffed her keys in her pocket and kicked her shoes off as she hung up her coat on the hook. 

She walked through the flat and knocked on Sirius’ door. The sobs didn’t stop though, nor did they become any quieter, so she assumed that he’d taken his hearing aids out. She pushed the door open and saw Sirius sitting on the edge of his bed, his fist in his mouth to quiet his sobs as he obsessively clicked on the power button on his phone. His hands were shaking and his leg kept bouncing up and down as he just clicked repeatedly. Lily didn’t see the screen turning on though, and she frowned as she took a step inside the room. 

“Sirius?” she asked, her voice loud enough that Sirius would hear her if he had one of his hearing aids in. He flinched, but he didn’t look up. She took a few big steps into the room, then crouched down right in front of him and waved her hand. 

His head snapped up, and he let out another sob when he saw her. Lily frowned.

_ ‘What’s going on?’  _ she signed. 

Sirius threw his phone down on the bed, then signed,  _ ‘It’s not working,’  _ with shaking hands.

“What?” Lily said, then realized that Sirius couldn’t hear her that well, and signed it instead. Sirius shook his head, sniffling and wiping his face. 

“I don’t know, I don’t know, it’s not turning on,” he said it out loud, his voice progressively getting louder with every word. “I need to listen to music and I obviously can't do it without my phone and it’s not turning and-,” another sob cut him off.

Lily hopped up on the bed and sat down beside him, putting her arm over his shoulders. 

_ ‘I’ll call Remus and the phone company for you,’  _ she signed it clumsily with one hand, but Sirius must’ve understood anyways, because he nodded and leaned against Lily’s shoulder, still sniffling. Lily pulled her phone out of her pocket, and decided to call Remus first.

She pressed her phone against her ear, holding with up with her shoulder as she rubbed her eyes. 

Remus picked up almost immediately, and the first thing that Lily heard was a very rushed sentence that almost sounded like, “Is Sirius okay?”

“What?” Lily grabbed her phone with her hand again.

“Sirius. He’s not answering my Facetime calls, is he okay?” Remus said, slower this time. 

“Oh, yeah. His phone’s not turning on though. I think he's having a panic attack or something and needs music,” Lily put her free hand in Sirius’ hair and started scratching his scalp in some half arsed attempt to calm him down.

“Is his phone dead or what’s going on with it?” 

“I don’t know, Re,” Lily said. “He just said that it’s not turning on.”

“I-. Okay, okay. He’s alright and it’s just his phone,” Remus muttered, and Lily was sure that he was just reassuring himself.  _ “ _ I guess I’m coming over tonight then, instead of us going to the cinema.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Lily said. “Look, I have to terp the call with the phone company so we can fix this, but I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah,” Remus said. “Yeah, see you.”

Lily hung up the phone, then poked Sirius’ shoulder. He looked up at her.

_ ‘Remus is on his way,’  _ she signed. Sirius let out a sigh of relief and nodded.

_ ‘Good,’  _ he signed. 

Lily looked up the number for Sirius’ phone company, then put the phone on speaker, listening to the annoying tune of the queue music. Her stomach grumbled, and she groaned again. She wanted to ask Sirius to make dinner, but she needed him with her as she talked. 

After waiting for ten whole minutes - ten minutes that she should’ve spent in the shower or on the balcony - the tech guide finally picked up.

“Hello, this is James speaking, thank you for holding. How may I help you today?” Lily let out a large breath at the voice and gestured for Sirius to sit upright.

“Hey, so.. Er,” she mentally cursed herself for being socially awkward in the worst situations. “My friend’s phone isn’t turning on.”

“Oh,” the tech guide, James, said. “Describe the problem.”

“Uh, well,” Lily said. “It’s not turning on.”

“Yes, you said that,” the guy let out a chuckle. “Did it just… Randomly stop working? Like you haven’t dropped it or gotten water in it?”

Lily signed the question to Sirius, who shook his head. 

_ ‘It worked fine this morning, and then it just turned off. It was fully charged and everything,’  _ Sirius signed. 

“You still there?” James asked. 

“Yeah, sorry,” Lily said. “My friend’s pretty much deaf so I’m terping for him. He says that it worked fine this morning and then just shut off, fully charged and everything.”

“What does he- Okay no, nevermind,” James said. “So no former struggle with the phone?”

“No, and he needs it to listen to music through his hearing aids,” Lily explained. “They’re bluetooth connected.”

“ _ Oh,  _ that’s something I didn’t know. Interesting,” James hummed. “Right, er… Have you tried turning it on and off again?”

Lily stared down at her phone in disbelief. She had just told him that the phone was pointedly  _ not  _ turning on, and he suggested to turn it on anyways.

“Are you fucking joking?” she said it somewhat calmly, albeit a bit shrill, even though she wanted to yell. She wanted to fucking scream into the abyss and never call anyone again. “The phone is  _ not  _ turning on, and we can therefore not try to turn it on and then off again.”

“Right. Right, of course,” James said. “Er… Have you tried connecting it to a power source?”

Lily facepalmed. An actual, hard slap against her face, which even stung a little. Sirius frowned at her. 

_ ‘Tech guide is being a dick,’  _ she signed, then took a deep breath. “Is it your goddamn goal in life to be an annoying dick? I have described the problem - the phone turned off, fully charged, and now it’s not turning on again.”

“Look, lady-,” the tech guide said, but Lily cut him off.

“Evans.”

“What?”

“My name is Lily Evans. Don’t call me lady,” she almost hissed. 

“Look, Evans. I’m just following procedure as I can’t  _ see  _ the problem,” James said. “You’ll have to come into one of our stores and they’ll help you better than I am right now, okay?”

“Right,” Lily sighed. “Thank you for trying to help, sorry if I was rude. Bye.”

“Have a n-,” Lily clicked off the call before he could finish the sentence. She groaned and turned to Sirius. 

_ ‘I’m going to shower and then I’ll have to take your phone to the store,’  _ she signed. Sirius frowned and swallowed hard. 

_ ‘Didn’t the guide help?’ _

_ ‘No. I’ll fix it though. Don’t worry.’ _

***

The guy in the phone store had been a downright dickhead, even worse than James-The-Phone-Guide, and hadn’t even tried to help. He’d only taken half a look at Sirius’ phone, then said “Buy a new one.”

Which Lily obviously did, despite the fact that neither she nor Sirius could really afford it. She just didn’t have the energy to do anything else about it. All she had wanted all day was a peaceful smoke on her balcony.

And now, after the worst day in history, she was  _ finally  _ sitting on her balcony, cigarette in hand as she swiped left on every person that came up on Flame. They were all far too shallow, some with requirements in their goddamn profiles, which just made it worse.

_ Amelia, 23, London.  _ Left.

_ Gilderoy, 21, London.  _ Left.

_ Susan, 25, Manchester.  _ Hard fucking left. Lily wasn’t going to date someone in Manchester. 

_ James, 24, London.  _ Lef—

Lily stilled mid swipe, and stared at the profile. The guy was cute. Hot, even. Dark skin, a mess of black hair, square glasses. 

Lily took a drag from her cigarette and read through the profile.

_ James, 24, London. _

_ Bisexual. I would say I like long walks on the beach, but I really don’t. I’d rather eat curry and play football. Or annoy people on the phone. _

_ Phone service/tech guide. I suck, I know. I’m sorry. _

_ Some would say that I’m a mummy’s boy, and to that I say, “You’re absolutely fucking right.” _

_ I like Debussy, if you know what I mean ;) (That’s a joke, I just love classical music. Honestly, catch me bopping to classical music on our first date) _

Lily snorted and swiped right. The profile wasn’t that funny, but funny enough to get her attention.

She stubbed out her cigarette and went back inside, finding Sirius and Remus on the sofa, trying to set up the former’s phone.

And that was when it dawned on her that she’d probably swiped right on James-The-Phone-Guide.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i disliske this chapter so much ugh. it's bad and i apologise
> 
> no beta this time around either _we die like men_
> 
> anyways hope you enjoy even though i don't lmao

_ Lily, 24, London _

_ stressed but well dressed.  _

_ i work with kids so i might smell like crayons and unseasoned food, but at least i get paid. _

_ i like pizza and sleeping with the window open under a mountain of blankets. talk about bowie and t. rex with me and you’ve got yourself a friend at the very least. _   
  


**You and Lily matched! Say hi!**

**(19:06)**

**James:** What a coincidence, I talked to a very lovely girl called Lily earlier today

**Lily:** is that your go-to pick up line? 

**James:** Of course not. I was just stating a factual thing

**Lily:** well then, isn’t it a coincidence that i just so happened to talk to a guy called james earlier?

**James:** ? Oh ?

**Lily:** yeah, i was in a very bad mood and was quite rude though so i’m not quite sure if he would call me lovely

**James:** Ah, I’m sure he’ll forgive you

**James:** Why were you in a bad mood?

**Lily:** a kid projectile vomited on me, my headphones weren’t working and my flat mate’s phone wasn’t working either

**Lily:** i didn’t even get to shower when i came home (even though i did shower at work, but that’s beside the point) i just had to fix his goddamn phone the first thing i did

**James:** Damn, I’m sorry

**Lily:** it’s alright. i shouldn’t rant to strangers anyways, sorry haha

**James:** It’s alright, I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know

**Lily:** i suppose. so anyways, tell me something about yourself :)

**James:** Well, what do you want to know?

**Lily:** whatever you’re willing to tell me.

 

***

 

James grinned stupidly at his phone as he prodded around in his salad without even looking at it. 

He and Lily had been texting for two weeks now. They’d exchanged numbers on Flame, and even though they yet had to call each other, they had been texting almost every moment they could. Updates on their jobs, what they were having for dinner, stupid selfies, anything they wanted to say was being said. 

It felt a little strange to James, to talk so much to someone he’d never even met. He was almost one hundred percent sure that she was the Lily that had called two weeks ago, though, so they had most probably had a verbal conversation. A slightly heated and not very interesting conversation, but a conversation nonetheless.

He had been putting off talking on the phone, in case Lily would recognise his voice and get pissed. But he wanted to. 

He wanted to talk to her all the time, he wanted to meet her. Go out for a coffee, go to a museum. He wanted to do  _ something,  _ to take the next, small step. But he didn’t dare to. He didn’t dare to because of a stupid phone call, which could very well be another Lily somewhere in the UK. 

James put away his phone and stabbed some lettuce, cucumber and ham onto his fork, then tried to fit it all into his mouth. He got dressing on his cheeks, and half of the lettuce fell off the fork and back into the container, but he got food in his mouth, so he considered it a success anyways. 

“What’s got you all happy and giddy lately?” Gideon, his co-worker, asked as he poured up a cup of coffee and grabbed a biscuit from the plate on the table.

“Do I need a reason to be happy, Gid?” James asked, grinning. Gideon took a sip of his coffee.

“With the way you’ve been grinning at your phone, I’d have to say yes,” he replied. James stabbed some more lettuce onto his fork.

“It’s just… This person I’ve been texting with,” he said. “Nothing special.”

Gideon shrugged and took a bite from his biscuit, “ _ Someone  _ special, though.”

James blushed and looked down at his salad, “It’s nothing, Gid.”

Gideon clapped his shoulder, “Whatever you say, mate.”

 

**James, (11:34):** My co-worker’s onto me and knows that I’m texting someone. He has yet to figure out who I’m texting.

**Lily, (11:36):** oh no, i’m gonna have to get a secret identity. move to ireland and start up a sheep farm. we can’t have co-workers knowing that you have a love life

**James, (11:37):** Absolutely not. I am a stone cold bastard, they will never know about my true feelings 

**Lily, (11:37):** i am filled with a very strong feeling of doubt 

**James, (11:38):** It’s the truth. I never show emotions. Not happening 

**Lily, (11:39):** didn’t you text me yesterday, crying about brian’s death in family guy

**James, (11:40):** IT WAS A MOMENT THAT HURT US ALL

**Lily, (11:41):** SEE you’re so emotional (you’re also right, pretty sure i cried during that episode)

**Lily, (11:41):** BACK TO THE POINT teddy bear. that’s what you are

**James, (11:41):** Why don’t we meet up this weekend and you’ll get to see just how stone cold I am

**Lily, (11:42):** friday evening. if you end up being stone cold, i’ll pay for dinner. if you’re actually as emotional as you seem to be, you pay

**James, (11:43):** Sounds like a date   
  


He had no idea where it came from - the suggestion of a date, when he was too scared of even calling her. But it felt good. To just push his worries aside, and let himself live.

James grinned and shoved his phone down his pocket. He threw his trash away, then went back to his cubicle to answer the stream of phone calls from clueless people, giving them equally as clueless answers.

 

***

 

**Lily, (17:18):** does seven work for you? i am really looking forward to my free dinner

**James, (17:20):** So am I

**James, (17:20):** See you at seven :)

 

James rushed around the flat, buttoning his shirt and combing his hair at the same time. The text conversation had been in the back of his mind since he’d gotten out of the office, and now it was only an hour left until he was meeting her.

He knew that he was going to end up paying for the dinner, but he didn’t mind. He was finally meeting Lily. 

He was nervous, of course, but excited as well. The worst thing that could happen was that Lily would realize that he was a useless tech guide who’d accidentally been rude to her. Which was fine. He still had Flame to check on if everything went to shit. 

He hoped that it would go well, though. That they’d have a fun time, eat some good food, perhaps share a kiss at the end. Which was all wishful thinking, really, maybe they’d only end up eating and then part ways and never meet up again.  _ Hopefully,  _ however, it would all be fine. 

James made it out with only five minutes to spare, and he immediately started power walking in the slightly chilly spring night. He’d given up on combing his hair after the comb got stuck and almost snapped in half, and had decided that Lily could live with the chaos that was James Potter and his hair. She’d seen it before anyways, in stupid selfies and on his Flame profile.

He walked fast, taking all sorts of short cuts by walking down sketchy alleyways and passing even sketchier buildings, but he made it to the restaurant just in time.

He couldn’t help but to grin when he saw her, standing outside the restaurant they’d chosen, holding a cigarette in her hand. She looked even more beautiful than in her profile picture and the weird selfies they’d exchanged, and James almost stopped in his tracks to just take her in. Her red hair, flowing down in beautiful waves, ending just past her shoulders, her clothes - a green blouse and black jeans, which looked so simple yet so unbelievably beautiful on her. She was shorter than he’d expected, but holy shit, she looked so  _ goddamn beautiful  _ as she stood there in the yellow light from the streetlights.

James forced himself to stop grinning as he walked towards her, then stopped when she looked up. Lily smiled, and James had to press his lips together to keep himself from grinning again.

“You’re taller than I expected,” Lily stated as soon as James was in earshot. He cleared his throat, trying not to sound as giddy as he felt. 

“I did tell you that I’m 6’1.”

Lily hummed. “My friend’s boyfriend is like 6’4, so I have no idea how I underestimated your height so badly.”

“I have short energy,” James pressed his lips together again. He was going to fail this miserably.

She grinned at him, taking one last drag from her cigarette before dropping it on the ground and stepping it out with her heel. “Shall we?” She nodded towards the door.

James gave a quick nod, then went to open the door for her. Lily smiled as she stepped inside. 

“What a gentleman.”

“Only the best for the best,” James said, trailing after her. 

They picked a booth in the back of the restaurant, dimly lit and slightly hidden from the families and other couples who were there. They sat down opposite of each other, picking up the menus that already sat on top of the table. 

“So,” Lily said, her eyes skimming over the menu. “What do people talk about on dates?”

James lifted his menu to hide both his face and the grin splitting across it. “I don’t know,” he said. “The weather?”

Lily laughed, shaking her head. Her eyes were still skimming through the menu, then they stopped. She knit her eyebrows together and started chewing on her lip before saying, “It’s a pity that date etiquette tells you not to eat garlic or spaghetti on the first date, the Pasta Aglio e Olio sounds delicious.”

James coughed, trying to cover up a laugh. “Go for it, I don’t judge.” His eyes found the dish Lily talked about - it did sound delicious, garlicky and slightly spicy. “You’ve also sent pictures of you in your pyjamas eating a whole cake with a plastic fork, so I think we’re past the snobby parts of dating.”

Lily laughed, setting down the menu and crossing her arms over the table. “I suppose you’re right.”

James smoothed out his face before setting down his menu as well, and when he looked back up he found himself looking straight into Lily’s bright green eyes. He smiled. He couldn’t help it. She was so beautiful, and James knew that she was nice and caring, hilarious and fierce and she made his heart beat a little faster. 

“Looks like you’re paying.”

James let his face split into a full grin. “It’s worth it.”

Lily blushed and ducked her head just as the waitress approached their table.

“Good evening,” she smiled at them, taking out a notepad from her apron. “May I take your order?”

“Yes,” James gave an unnecessary cough and put the menu to the side. “Er, I’ll have the vegetarian carbonara and a pepsi.”

Lily placed her menu on top of James’ and looked up at the waitress, still blushing a little. “I’ll have the Pasta Aglio e Olio and a water, please.”

The waitress scribbled a little in her notepad, then gave a quick nod and a smile before she left. 

“Funny how none of us are drinking on a Friday night,” Lily said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. 

“I usually don’t drink,” James shrugged. 

“Oh, is it some religious thing or do you just don’t do it?” Lily asked, then her eyes widened a little. “Shit. Did that sound offensive?”

James laughed and shook his head, “It’s fine. And to answer your question, a little bit of both, I suppose. I was raised Hindu so there’s nothing  _ strict  _ about not drinking, I guess, but my parents don’t so I just… Don’t do it either.”

Lily nodded, smiling. “Talk about your family some more.”

“Oh well,” James said, fiddling a little with the table cloth. “I’m an only child, have filthy rich parents who donate like half of their money to whatever they can think of. I have some family in India somewhere, but I haven’t met them in ages. It’s not very interesting.”

“No, no,” Lily said. “I think it is.”

James smiled and shrugged again, “What about you?”

“Er… I’ve got my mum, dad died in a car accident when I was eleven. And I’ve got a god awful sister who I don’t speak to,” Lily said. “It’s not that interesting either, I suppose. I love my mum, but I don’t visit her often enough, and my sister’s just.” She paused for a bit, searching for the right word. “Wretched.”

James laughed, then immediately felt bad for laughing. It probably wasn’t smart to laugh at Lily’s explanation of her sister, she probably felt bad about it, and James had presumably just fucked everything up. Lily joined in though, her eyes glinting beautifully as she laughed. 

James almost wanted to stretch over the table and kiss her, right then and there, but was quickly brought back to earth by the waitress coming back, setting down their food and drinks on the table.

“One vegetarian carbonara and a pepsi,” she said, setting down the food in front of James. “And one Pasta Aglio e Olio and a water.” She put the food down in front of Lily. “Enjoy your meal,” she said, and then she left. 

They dug into their food without another word. Lily put a far too large forkful of pasta in her mouth, chewed a couple of times and let out a shameless moan.

“Delicious,” she said, making a half-arsed attempt at covering her mouth. James laughed, reaching over to steal a few pasta strands. Lily didn’t stop him, only pushed the plate towards him encouragingly. He twirled some pasta onto his fork, then stuck it into his mouth and almost moaned himself. “So good,” Lily said. James nodded enthusiastically.

They ate their food, sharing some small talk as they did, and when they’d finished they just sat there and kept talking. James wondered why he’d been so nervous about meeting her, because their conversation didn’t get awkward in the slightest. They just talked and talked, bouncing between all sorts of topics. James avoided the topic of his job though, still slightly scared that she’d get pissed at him. 

After they’d talked for far too long and he’d paid for their food (Lily looked very smug when he did), they went back outside into the now slightly colder night. They stopped right outside the restaurant, facing each other. 

“I really enjoyed tonight,” James said, reaching out to grab Lily’s hand. She smiled, stepping a little closer. 

“Me too,” she said. She was looking straight into James’ eyes, and James felt more giddy and happy than he had in a while. Lily chewed her lip for a second, frowning. “You’re the phone guy, right?”

James laughed, a blush creeping up his neck. “I hoped you wouldn’t realize that.”

Lily snorted, taking yet another step closer. Her free hand trailed up James’ forearm, fingers dancing up his arm with feather light touches. “I realized that like two minutes after I swiped right on you on Flame.”

“Oh,” James said. “Well that’s…” he trailed off, unsure of what to say. Lily grinned and put her hand behind James’ neck, just keeping it there. Her hands were cold, but they felt like fire on his skin. She rose to her tiptoes, gave a very quiet hush, then forced James head down and pressed her lips against his. He froze for a second, then leaned down a little further and practically melted into the kiss. Their lips moved together messily, but it felt perfect, and James wasn’t sure if he was going to melt or explode. 

He had never been happier about his job as a phone guide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wowzers this was not good
> 
> yell at me on my [tumblr ](https://confunded-gryffindor.tumblr.com/) if you liked/disliked i guess

**Author's Note:**

> wowie all those disclaimers at the top only to bring you here 1600 words later. 
> 
> i feel like i just keep apologizing for shit i could've possibly done wrong, so why don't you yell at me on tumblr instead? [ @confuded-gryffindor ](https://confunded-gryffindor.tumblr.com/)


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